


Intermission

by Ubdqelliot



Series: The Broken Lion [4]
Category: Baldur's Gate
Genre: Campfires, Gen, Hags, Losing an eye, Loss of hope, Making a deal with Ethel, Wishful Thinking, Wyll is only mentioned, planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 07:14:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30102246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ubdqelliot/pseuds/Ubdqelliot
Summary: After finding the truth about Kagha's intentions and making a deal with Ethel (that very much did not go in your favor), everyone is exhausted. You decide to come up with a new plan.AKA: Avoiding your own grief by leading a group
Series: The Broken Lion [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2206383
Kudos: 2





	Intermission

**Author's Note:**

> This part is mostly an exercise for me to figure out where I'm going now that I've got my checklist of events down such as learning Shadowheart's god and Astarion and the bite scene. This is probably boring, but honestly I found writing this fun. Now I just need to figure out what's next

A sigh, full of regrets. The words you wanted to scream danced on your lips, trying to escape in spite the prison you’d designed. You felt so _stupid_. Every sign was in front of you and you’d chosen to look away. The weight of your mistake was on _your_ shoulders, though there was perhaps a comfort that nobody else had paid the price for your naivete.

Your mind still ached from where your parasite burrowed further to escape the arcane pull of the hag.

 _Gods_ , her horrified screech continued to echo in your head. True disgust, agony, _fear_ from the fey being, a monster in stories and yet _you_ were why. It was a mistake to hope for an answer from such a creature, yet you were desperate.

Your allies didn’t understand your desperation, as there were still options for them. Choosing the help of the hag over waiting for the archdruid you were meant to save was, in their eyes, ignorant. They hadn’t thought what you had, hadn’t seen what you had. Now, their hope of Halsin removing it for them was crushed, all at the cost of your eye.

Perhaps that was really what you paid for. Not for a solution you felt might’ve been there, but to not be the one to tell them there _was_ no easy answer, that Raphael, had, in fact, been right. That you, in the darkest parts of your mind, had been right.

You hated when you were right. The last time it happened you dove off that cliff.

Burying your face in your hands, you drew a shaky breath. You needed to be stronger than this. Their misery was stronger than yours; they still had the hope you lost a few nights ago. It was necessary your push your pain aside and be the leader they needed you to be.

Forcing your body to work with you, you rose to your feet, drawing your gaze away from the dark pool that drew your melancholy forward. They needed a leader, so you would do your best. Cold air stung your lungs as you took in a deep breath, with it burying all the grief deep inside. Fists clenched with persistence, you blinked, further securing the makeshift eye patch before turning towards the camp. Many of your allies were already next to the fire, choosing the flames as their focus. They barely turned their heads to look at you as you approached, refusing to sit down.

After a pause, you spoke. “What we have learned today is… difficult. The implications of it we don’t understand yet. It’s… hard not to lose hope.” The only sound was the crackle of flame. “We’ve still a mission. We’ve still options, even if they’re unlikely. I… I don’t think the goblin priestess was ever going to help us, given what we understand know about the Absolute’s followers not knowing of their parasite. Now, given the shadow magic attached to them… I doubt Lae’zel’s creche could even save us. This is beyond them.” An instinctive scoff. “We can continue to pursue them for personal sake, but I believe we know this is something different, something bigger than what the gith have come across before.”

“Just because your minds are too small to understand, does not mean the best of Vlaakith’s scholars fail. The creche may be our only chance,” she hissed. “I knew the _hag_ would prove futile, yet you still chose to give up your _eye_ for that thing.”

“I didn’t do it for a solution,” you retorted, folding your arms across your chest. “I did it for answers, which we got.” Gale’s head tilted slightly with confusion as he glanced up at you. “I didn’t think Ethel could fix us, not with how we’ve all been feeling our _visitor_ burrowing further into our heads with each use of it’s powers. I’d already figured we were long gone. What I _did_ think she could give us, though, were answers. She served her purpose.”

“How delectably devious,” Astarion purred, resulting in you rolling your eye.

“I still believe our best course of action is retrieving Halsin from the goblin camp. From what we’ve heard, he is not only the best healer, but he’s a powerful archdruid who had already been looking into this situation. Should we successfully free him from the camp and perhaps even save the grove, he can work with us to find a solution.” There seemed a disapproving shifting from half the group, resulting in a slight huff from your chest. “The fact of the matter is, he’s a powerful ally to have. He not only has knowledge of the area, but of the parasite in our heads. He thought there was an answer in that temple, so for better or worse, we need to go and find out what he knows. From there, we can make a decision on whether to tell him what _we_ know.”

“It seems like an awfully large amount of work for a maybe,” Shadowheart piped up, her opal eyes brimming with frustration.

“Do you have any better ideas?” Came your sharp response.

“We can go to this gith patrol-“

“I hadn’t asked you, Lae’zel.” You internally winced at the abrasiveness of your response, a hint of fear pressing in your chest. After a pause, you let out a sigh, easing yourself into a more gentle posture. “We’re all worried, especially with the fact that Astarion’s actually _sleeping_ instead of going into trance. We can feel the parasite _taking_. Fortunately, it seems to just be when we use our granted influence to bend others to our will, or when we force ourselves into one another’s minds. So long we keep our heads to ourselves, it seems we’re spared the symptoms, and thus the change. We needn’t _rush_ , though the less time we wait the more it seems solutions are open.”

“We can agree on that, it seems,” the gith hissed.

“Gale, you can feel a teleportation circle near, correct?” Your gaze locked onto him, and he nodded, although his eyes seemed to be more hollow than usual. “Tomorrow, we find that circle and return to the druid cove, save us another day returning. We bring what we know to Rath and the other druids and see what we can do to stop Kagha from finishing the ritual. From there, we collect Wyll and head to the goblin camp, to put an _end_ to this branch of the Absolute’s influence. Does anyone object?” Before Lae’zel could speak, you continued. “For any reason _other_ than the creche?”

Astarion shifted from his position, taking in a breath. “I’m not the biggest fan of this whole _save the refugees_ plan. We’ve better priorities, I see no reason to waste a day-“

“Halsin will not help us if there is no grove for him to return to.” While harsh, there was a truth to your words that they could feel. “If we had the chance to do something about it, and we let the shadow druids take over _his_ circle, he will be furious and more than likely cut us down.”

“I’d like to see him try,” growled the gith, clutching her greataxe nearby.

“I have to say, for once I agree with the freak,” Astarion purred, basking in the glare the woman gave him.

“Do not underestimate an archdruid. He likely has more spells than the three of us _combined_ , let alone access to greater beast shapes than I can accomplish. On _top_ of all this, we have no idea what relics he has on him, or how he fights. It is not a fight we would win, nor a fight that gets us anything. Saving the refugees- while the _moral_ thing to do- is also the _logical_ thing to do.”

“Right, this all hinges on the fact we find and access this teleportation circle. We haven’t the faintest idea where it _is_ ,” the elf continued to argue.

“I’d wager a guess it’s in the blighted city,” Gale responded, making a show of glancing around at the surroundings. “It’s not like there’s much else around here, and I’m certain there wasn’t a sigil in the owlbear den.”

“If that’s even the case,” Shadowheart began. “How do we get _inside_? We know there’s an ambush at the front gates.”

“You’re a trickster cleric, are you not?” You piped up, eyebrow raised. “You have the capability to disguise yourself?”

“Of course,” she scoffed. “My Dark Lady grants me many such gifts.”

“We walk in behind you, disguised as a drow.” That seemed to catch many of the group off-guard.

“Brilliant.” The confused eyes landed on the wizard, who was grining wide as he glanced at you. “The body of the dead drow in the grove mentioned there was a drow at the goblin camp.”

“We don’t know what this Minthara looks like,” Astarion argued.

“No,” you spoke. “But we know there _are_ drow that bow to the Absolute. Not only that, but in positions of power. I’m willing to bet a True Soul drow can get us far, without even having to use the tadpole.”

“Yes, let’s have Queen Charisma be the lead,” the elf continued, and you narrowed your eyes.

“When you know the _disguise self_ spell, let me know. Otherwise, we follow Shadowheart’s lead.” You could see the cleric’s expression soften at your words, a silent appreciation evident in her features. After that, the disagreement grew quieter, a small sigh leaving your lips. “I… I’m sorry if I’m especially harsh right now. A lot happened, and I didn’t think we’d be up against a _hag_ of all things. We’re lucky to have survived.” The scoff you thought was mirrored by the elf’s, and you closed your eye to try and calm yourself. “That isn’t to… _excuse_ my behavior. It’s…” Another sigh as you couldn’t find the words you intended.

“It’s alright, Leoth,” Gale piped up, at the same time Lae’zel rose to her feet.

“Do not apologize to these _weaklings_ ,” she spat in your face before storming off to her tent. Everyone remaining just stared at her with shared confusion before you burst out in laughter, a sound the echoed around the campfire through the others.


End file.
